Partnership agreement NMi-AQSIQ

NMi Certin and China’s top metrology government agency sign special partnership agreement

On 8 May 2013 in Shanghai, NMi Certin and China’s top metrology government agency AQSIQ (Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine) will sign a special partnership agreement on far-reaching knowledge sharing. The official ceremony, in which director Arjan van Breukelen will sign an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the two institutions on behalf of NMi Certin, will be attended by Minister of Trade and Development Cooperation Ploumen and forms part of her trade mission to China. Minister Zhi Shuping, who is responsible for AQSIQ, will be a witness on behalf of the Chinese government.

The reliability of measuring instruments used in trade has a major influence on commerce. For this reason, measuring instruments such as petrol pumps, scales and electricity meters, but also for example speed cameras which the authorities use for enforcement, must first be tested and certified by a government-appointed party such as NMi Certin before the manufacturer is permitted to sell these products.

This is in order to protect the end users, who must be able to rely on the many measuring instruments that cross their path daily meeting the statutory requirements. After all, when you weigh fruit at a supermarket, pay for your petrol after filling up, have a flutter in the casino, read the quantities on a medicine packaging or receive your electricity bill, you want to be able to trust that you are getting what you are paying for.

Measuring instruments which appear on the market in Europe, and thus also in the Netherlands, are increasingly made in China. Conversely, the Chinese market is becoming increasingly attractive to European manufacturers. In order to facilitate and promote these growing international trade flows and the demand for good, reliable measuring instruments, NMi Certin and AQSIQ started working closely together as long ago as in 1999, a collaboration codified in an MRA (Mutual Recognition Agreement) covering scales. The agreement was regarded as very successful by both parties, resulting in further MRAs in subsequent years covering gas, liquid and energy meters, among others.

In reaching these agreements, NMi Certin and AQSIQ committed themselves to testing in accordance with the same globally recognised standards in all these fields. This means that, for example, test reports can be accepted between both institutes, and manufacturers can count on fast access to the market, not only in China and the Netherlands but also in other countries which adhere to the internationally agreed regulations. The great benefit of this is that manufacturers in Europe and China only need to have their measuring products tested once, whereas previously this had to be done in each country separately. They enjoy an enduring benefit from the clear procedures and so save time and money.

The MoU which NMi Certin and AQSIQ have now entered into has the goal of intensifying knowledge exchange between the two institutions and learning from each other with the help of workshops, training courses, mutual visits, etc. Part of the shared mission is to achieve even higher acceptance of each other’s test results and the pooling of innovative strengths in new areas of development, such as smart metering, software security and privacy. For NMi Certin, this reinforces its leading position in the worldwide certification market.